Day 7: Half a rep

The workout regimen is to do 14 to 17 reps with weights. That’s it. Really.

And, you are expected to fail. As in work out to failure.

In today’s Workout A, I had a target of 65 pounds for seven reps of Yates row. Because I completed all seven, I increase to 75 pounds for the next Workout A.

I had another target of 40 pounds for seven reps of the barbell overhead press. As long as I complete six, I can consider the goal met and can increase to the next level for the next Workout A.

But at five-and-a-half reps, I had to stop.

And “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] says stop completely. No more reps, no drop-down (doing the set over with a lower weight), no wait and start over. Pack up and go home (I’m already home!).

In addition, add 1 extra day between all future workouts (which was scheduled to go up from 2 to 3 days anyway). Workout B will now be in 3 days rather than 2 days. The reason is to ensure proper time for rest (muscle development) and feeding.

I debated for a minute on whether to do the optional abs exercises. I did them, since they’re part of a different muscle group than the standard lifts.

So the first standard workout ended just a half rep short of completion. If only I could’ve kept that barbell above my head just a moment longer …